1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process and an apparatus for manufacturing a fiber carrying solid particles and a fiber sheet carrying solid particles, and a fiber carrying solid particles and a fiber sheet carrying solid particles.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a method for bonding solid particles to a fiber surface, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 6-341044 discloses a nonwoven fabric prepared by binding fibers to each other by a binder (a binder solution, dispersion, or emulsion) and at the same time affixing functional powders to the fiber surface by the binder. This publication also discloses a nonwoven fabric prepared as described below. That is, an aggregate of core-sheath type hot-melt fibers consisting of a resin having a high melting point as a core component and a binder resin having a low melting point as a sheath component is heated to a temperature higher than a melting point of the binder resin. Functional powders are supplied onto the melted fibers, and the fibers then cooled and cured. The fibers of the resin having a high melting point are bound to each other by the binder resin. Further, the functional powders are affixed to the fibers.
However, according to the method for affixing functional powders to the fiber surface using a binder (a binder solution, dispersion, or emulsion), the functional powders are repeatedly brought into contact with the fiber surfaces, or the binder is allowed to flow until it is cured by heat after brought into contact with the fiber surfaces. As a result, the binder is affixed to a portion other than contact points between the functional powders and the fiber surface to excessively cover the surface of the functional powders, and thus, the function of the functional powders may not be effectively exerted.
According to the method for affixing functional powders by melting a binder resin as a sheath component in a core-sheath type hot-melt fiber, the functional powders are affixed under a condition that the binder resin are melted and made fluid. As a result, many functional powders are buried in a binder resin layer to excessively cover the surface of the functional powders, and thus the function of the functional powders may not be effectively exerted.
Further, according to the method disclosed in the publication, the binder or the binder resin is made fluid and leaked from gaps between the functional powders and the binder or binder resin. Therefore, a problem occurs in that the functional powders are partially stacked by affixing other functional powders on the outside of each of the functional powders and are not uniformly carried on the fiber surface.
As a method other than that of using the binder or the core-sheath type hot-melt fiber as disclosed in the publication, a method for affixing functional powders by heating and melting a fiber not having the core-sheath structure but consisting of a single resin component may be considered. According to this method, in addition to the above problems, whole fibers are melted, and thus a problem occurs of broken threads or a shrinkage of fibers.